Suspended New York Times food columnist Alison Roman has now been accused of wearing an offensive ‘Chola’ Halloween costume in 2008.
The cookbook author, 34, last month faced backlash over her comments on Chrissy Teigen and Marie Kondo which resulted in her column being pulled.
Now journalist Yashar Ali has shared images of Roman from her old MySpace account, writing: ‘Amid the uproar…a source sends me this photo of @alisoneroman dressed up as a Chola from a party.’
But Roman hit back, writing: ‘This incredibly embarrassing picture was taken in 2008, I was 23 & living in SF, this was my ‘SF inspired Amy Winehouse’ costume for Halloween- it reads as culturally insensitive, and I was an idiot child who knew nothing about the world/how this would be perceived and I’m sorry.’
Chola is described as a style specific to the Mexican-American community.
Ali had asked his 630,000 followers to ‘note her hoop earring, fake tattoo on her chest and her make up’.
Journalist Yashar Ali has shared images of Roman, writing: ‘Amid the uproar…a source sends me this photo of @alisoneroman dressed up as a Chola from a party’
Roman hit back, writing: ‘This incredibly embarrassing picture was taken in 2008, I was 23 & living in SF, this was my ‘SF inspired Amy Winehouse’ costume’
The late Amy Winehouse is pictured in 2007. Roman said she had dressed as the star in 2008
But he later deleted the tweet, writing: ‘A lot of debate on this tweet of mine to the left. I have deleted it while keeping it here so that it can sit next to @alisoneroman ‘s tweet.
‘This is photo was sitting on Alison’s MySpace page…you can google it. She has a recent history of being called out for appropriation.
‘That’s why I was willing to tweet it. Most of the time I don’t believe such photos are newsworthy. Recent issues she’s had combined w/ this made it different.
‘Re Amy Winehouse: Amy didn’t have a tattoo in old English on her chest like that. She also didn’t wear hoops like that.’
Chola is described as a style specific to the Mexican-American community. Ali had asked his 630,000 followers to ‘note her hoop earring, fake tattoo on her chest and her make up’
Roman apologized but said she had dressed as Amy Winehouse for Halloween
He added in a final tweet on the matter: ‘I knew Alison had apologized to a friend for this photo. We can agree to disagree but I always appreciate the honest feedback and accountability.’
Roman continued to defend the look, writing: ‘TBH I’d be surprised if I even looked up a picture of Amy to put this together. I am historically lazy and bad at costumes.
‘I’m sure it went something like “someone give me fake tattoos and some eyeliner, this seems fine! now plz hand me the Bacardi 151!” It was/I was VERY DUMB.’
Fans rushed to her defense, with many sharing an image of Teigen, 34, in a Native American costume.
One wrote: ‘We all know why you are calling out Alison.
‘Because you are good friends with someone that she recently had an infamous ‘Twitter feud’ with, which they already squashed. You are beyond petty and unprofessional for this.’
Another said: ‘You are not the appropriation police and it’s not fair to drag her during times of such intense feelings.’
Others shared images of Winehouse in similar outfits to Roman’s.
Fans rushed to her defense, with many sharing an image of Teigen, 34, in a Native American costume. Other shared images of Winehouse in similar outfits to Roman’s
Roman saw her column in the New York Times put on hold after her comments on Chrissy Teigen.
In a May 7 interview with The New Consumer, Roman said that Teigen’s culinary empire ‘horrifies me’.
‘What Chrissy Teigen has done is so crazy to me,’ she said.
‘She had a successful cookbook. And then it was, like: Boom, line at Target. Boom, now she has an Instagram page that has over a million followers where it’s just, like, people running a content farm for her.
‘That horrifies me and it’s not something that I ever want to do. I don’t aspire to that. But like, who’s laughing now? Because she’s making a ton of f****** money.’
Roman also attacked Marie Kondo for her products – leading to a swift online backlash, as critics noted that Roman had singled out two minority women.
Initially the Los Angeles-born chef was defiant, tweeting on May 8: ‘When women bully other women for being honest about money and how much they do or do not make, well, that’s amore.’
She later that day recanted, saying: ‘I am not coming for anyone who’s successful, especially not women. ‘I was trying to clarify that my business model does not include a product line, which work very well for some, but I don’t see working for me.’
The cookbook author, 34, last month faced backlash over her comments on Chrissy Teigen and Marie Kondo which resulted in her column being pulled.
Roman saw her column in the New York Times put on hold after her comments on Chrissy Teigen . In a May 7 interview Roman said that Teigen’s culinary empire ‘horrifies me’
Teigen then replied, tweeting: ‘I don’t think I’ve ever been so bummed out by the words of a fellow food-lover. I just had no idea I was perceived that way, by her especially. And Marie, too. Marie is awesome.’
She said that her brand, Cravings, was not a ‘machine’ or ‘farmed content’.
She concluded: ‘I didn’t ‘sell out’ by making my dreams come true. To have a cookware line, to get to be part of that process from start to finish, to see something go from sketch in to my hands, I love that.’
Roman apologized, tweeting that she had been ‘flippant, careless’ and saying that she was ‘genuinely sorry’.
By May 10 Teigen said that she had been receiving abuse about her children. She said she was taking time away from Twitter, to let the row settle down.
Roman then issued a further apology, in a long letter on social media which Teigen accepted.
On May 19 it was confirmed that Roman’s New York Times column had been put on hold. Teigen criticized the decision, saying she was ‘not happy’ with it.
She hit out at the New York Times’ decision to pull Roman’s column, insisting that she ‘doesn’t agree’ with the move — and that doesn’t believe anyone should be ‘canceled for having an honest opinion.’
‘I very publicly forgave Alison and that was real,’ the Sports Illustrated model wrote in a tweet.